- (a) Hearing participants shall conduct themselves in an orderly manner. The hearing officer, presiding officer, or panel members shall regulate the course of proceedings and shall use reasonable means to control the hearing in cases of disorder or refusal to comply with the rules of the hearing.
- (b) Parties, representatives, and witnesses shall not engage in bitter exchanges, vulgarities, or abuse or make offensive or insulting comments. When such an act is committed, the hearings officer, presiding officer, or chair of the panel shall admonish the offender advising that such behavior does not contribute to a fair hearing and impedes the orderly disposition of a case.
- (c) If the offense is repeated and further admonition appears fruitless, the hearings officer, presiding officer, or chair of the panel shall exclude a disorderly person from the hearing.
- (d) A disorderly person shall not lose the case because of their offensive conduct or the offensive conduct of their representative or witness.
- (e) Notwithstanding (d) above, if a disorderly person’s offensive conduct is so flagrant that it prevents the completion of the case, the hearing officer, presiding officer, or panel chair shall warn the disorderly person that their conduct shall result in a default judgment entered for the case. Such party may reopen the case upon submitting an offer of proof or argument in an orderly fashion before the default decision becomes final.
Source. #8922-A, eff 7-1-07; ss by #14534, eff 3-12-26 (formerly Lab 203.11)